Fresh facts have emerged about how Cynosure FC of Abakaliki chairman had persuaded Liberty Lions FC chairman to be involved in a match-fixing scam and have the result in his favour.
Cynosure FC's boss allegedly persuaded his counterpart at Liberty Lions FC to participate in this scheme to manipulate the outcome of a game.
The Cynosure FC chairman previously claimed ignorance of any wrongdoing despite filing a petition concerning the match between Liberty Lions FC and E-Word United, which he alleged was fixed and called for sanctions.
However, the NLO's investigation determined that the Cynosure FC chairman raised a false alarm by claiming the match was played with 7 players from one team against 11 from the other, rather than the standard 11 vs 11.
Consequently, he was banned for six months and fined ₦500,000 by the nation’s third-division domestic league regulatory body.
Meanwhile, an impeccable source gave a detailed account of how Cynosure FC initiated its match-fixing plan.
"With plans by the NLO to have the matches between Liberty Lions FC and E-Word FC, as well as Cynosure FC and May & Frank FC, played simultaneously, the Cynosure FC chairman began its match-fixing scheme.
“Ahead of the matches, the chairman of Cynosure FC called Liberty Lions FC Calabar to inform him that his team stood a chance of being relegated due to its position on the log.”
"Liberty Lions FC chairman replied to him that it was possible, but his team had a final and important game against E-Word United. He then said that was exactly why he called urging Liberty Lions FC boss to convince the chairman of E-Word United to obtain a favourable result for us."
“He (Liberty Lions FC chairman) honestly had a bad feeling when he received his (Cynosure FC chairman) call. He went further to instruct him to negotiate with the E-Word chairman, but he firmly stated that E-Word FC, who had a chance to move to the top of the group, would never agree to give Liberty Lions FC the match or engage in any negotiations.”
Acting swiftly, the Nationwide League One (NLO) Secretariat in a letter dated 3rd June, 2025, with reference No. NNWL/LGMT/02/111, addressed to the Ebonyi State Football Association and Chairman Cynosure FC, has opened a preliminary investigation into thematch-fixingg plot.
The content of the letter read - We are concerned about a petition regarding the Chairman of Cynosure FC, who allegedly contacted the Chairman of Liberty Lions FC Calabar before their last league match to influence the outcome against E-World FC. This match had previously drawn complaints from the Cynosure FC Chairman due to an unfavourable result.
It has been confirmed that the Chairman of Cynosure FC tried to persuade Liberty Lions FC to speak with the president of E-World FC to manipulate the match, but Liberty Lions declined.
As a result, the NLO Secretariat has opened an investigation into both parties and will ensure that any misconduct is addressed. The Nigeria Nationwide League One will not tolerate actions that compromise the integrity of football.
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